Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Change happens whether we like it or not. But it can be very inconvenient, or exciting or all of the above. What am I talking about? Well, have you ever clicked on a Pinterest link/pic only to find the link is dead or does to a completely different page? I'm not talking about strategic redirect, I'm talking about a page that exists, but is no longer available. I first discovered this when I created my aMuse Journey in a Day packet. Over time I received dozens of emails from frustrated leaders who could no longer find the resources at the links listed. In researching the problem, I discovered that Girl Scouts, like so many other organizations with websites, had slowly replaced pages that were "outdated" with links to generic pages. So while you clicked on a link for, say, a card game about women pioneers in STEM careers, you instead found yourself at a page describing the levels of Girl Scouts. Frustrated, but never one to back down from a problem, I did what I do best: I searched cached pages until I found all of the "missing" resources. I found them, downloaded them and hosted them on my own site. That way, the links would live on in perpetuity.

Another example of change has to do with fonts. I hope I'm not alone in that I notice new and innovative uses of design and font (example: the "chalkboard" design phase of 2+ years ago). Every time you opened a magazine you saw several ads using the chalkboard background with the standard dozen or so chalkboard fonts. One night I was in the grocery store and I looked up to see a banner hanging between each checkstand. The banner advertised some kind of "game night" special for football season. But what I found about the ad that hit me in the face was that the font was one that had been stale (overused) for over a year. What makes a font stale? When you notice it used profusely in advertising first, then on Pinterest, then in EVERYTHING.

So what does this have to do with you/us? One of my fonts that I use in my troop logos has become....overused. Gasp! That font is Lobster. I personally still love it and I'm sure you do too. While designing my all new leader planner, I kept struggling with the fonts. It got so bad, that at a certain point, I shelved the project for a year. If you've been following me you know that this leader planner is a labor of love. It's been through many incarnations before I even felt comfortable giving you a preview.

But no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't finish it, let alone launch it. Fast forward a couple of years, I was working full-time as a graphic designer, I was anxious to finish the project. But I was also suffering from creative burnout from working all day using the right side of my brain. Finally, I couldn't put it off an longer so I pushed past creative block and just kept chiseling away at it. And, alas, I finished it! The outcome is something I'm very proud of. As I finished it I also made the decision to update the iamgirlscout fonts. The new planner includes those new fonts. Slowly I will be transitioning over to the new fonts, while eventually retiring the old fonts altogether. But for now, I will offer both the old and the new.

"Old" fonts ~ Still cute!

New fonts! ~ OMG!

One such item that got an entire upgrade is my badge trackers. The "old" badge trackers, found here, are still available and updated to include new badges with the exception of STEM badges that are a part of journeys. Why change a good thing, you ask? Well, the old badge trackers were actually a bit of a pain. If you were lucky enough to download the PDF version of the file, you were good. But if you used the Word document it was very easy to hit enter and mess the entire thing up. It was difficult to add slots for more girls without the entire page going bonkers. As I was updating them with the new badges, I grew frustrated with the limitations of Word, especially after using Adobe products for over two years. So I embarked on the task of updating the trackers with the ultimate goal being to add the new badges *and* include pins and special awards. The result is, instead of one badge per page for multiple girls, there is now one page of badges, ALL badges, for one girl. So you simply print as many pages as you have girls and you're all set.

{drumroll} here are the new trackers:

All New Tracker Downloads

All new trackers include pins, badges, journeys, special awards, etc.

Last but not least, I've attempted to salvage some resources before they
magically disappear into internet oblivion. Of these, I've included
the Girl Scout badge logs. They are all visual and pretty, however,
they print on legal or larger paper, which may or may not be
inconvenient depending on your printing options. But they are an
alternative to ones I offer.

Online Badge Explorer

If you are super sad about losing the old tracker, please email me iamgirlscouts[at]sbcglobal.net or comment below. If there is enough protest, I will begrudgingly update the old trackers into the near future. But I would love it if everyone falls in love with the new trackers and uses them with glee!

Scouts should complete 3 items to earn each petal, hence the 3 boxes. These can be what is recommended in the Daisy Girl's Guide (Big Blue Book) or other items within the idea of that petal that the leaders/ volunteers design. Hope this helps!

Grab One!

I {am} Girl Scouts is a personal blog. Read more about {me} here. The information provided in the posts is from my experience as a Girl Scout or as a Girl Scout leader. Most of the materials and resources were developed by me. Those that were not I give credit to the website and/or author or artist.

I {am} Girl Scouts is not affiliated with, endorsed or licensed by Girl Scouts of the USA. All opinions expressed in the blog are my opinion. I am not employed by my local council or GSUSA, but I am a volunteer: leader mom, National Delegate and service unit representative.

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